Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education (SCRELE) is one of key research centers for humanities and social sciences in Shanghai, aiming to push forward city-wide English curriculum innovations in basic education through in-depth university-school collaborations. SCRELE was established in July, 2016 by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. Based at Shanghai International Studies University, SCRELE involves researchers and exceptional teachers from major universities, education development institutes and schools in Shanghai. It also collaborates closely with nearly 30 renowned experts and scholars in the field of English Linguistics and Language Teaching both at home and abroad.

Under the guidance of government policies, SCRELE combines the latest theoretical achievements in Foreign Language Teaching and teaching practices, and works in close collaboration with language educators from universities and schools, making contributions to the innovation of foreign language teaching in basic education. SCRELE attaches great importance to academic researches and explores mutual development between researches and teaching practices. In recent years, a series of activities has been successfully held to gather academic resources of domestically and internationally, including high-level international conferences, high-end seminars, expert forums and academic lectures.

By the end of 2023, SCRELE has witnessed publication of a great number of books and journals related to basic education research. The English textbooks designed for high school students, which are edited chiefly by Dingfang Shu, the Chair Professor at SCRELE, and published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, has been approved by the Ministry of Education and listed in the National Curriculum Teaching Materials Catalog. SCRELE has published six volumes of English Education and Teaching Research and eight issues of Language Teaching for Young Learners. The project Cultivating a New Basic FLT Ecosystem in Shanghai headed by Professor Shu won the first prize of Shanghai Basic Education Teaching Achievement Award in 2022.